Sunday, 31 July 2016

The Making of the World

Before the beginning of Kitas, the Great Spirit gave mighty foci to the Four, and they created the world with them. First, the Axeswinger made the unliving world, the land and air; then the Spearbearer made it move by giving the fire; then the Swordmaster brought compromise between endurance and change by adding water to unify both. Finally, the Bowarcher put living creatures into the world. When this was done, the sun rose for the first time, and the Four died, and were chosen anew by the Great Spirit among the new beings.

"The Four are equally obvious and secretive, and while you will always know them when you meet, we usually know little about the Four. Where they came from, who they were; with some notable exceptions, like Lady Ghelined."— Farganah, historian

How long it took them to make the world is unknown, and theories are wildly debated among scientists. Just as unknown is the species of the First Four, but there is a traditional canon assuming the Axeswinger to be a rhu'khach, the Swordmaster a beja, the Spearbearer a raganaj, and the bowarcher an elf. Since nobody today knows the shape of a rhu'khach anymore, the Axeswinger is commonly depicted as either a tall human or a fantastic creature assembled from different sources.

Artists' notesThis is how Kitaians assume the world was made. Because the Four are the primordial beings resembling gods in Genius Loci - making them kinda important -, I come back to them time and again. Being one of The Four is a title, not a trait; they're not reborn, but new Four are chosen every cycle.

About Me

Ranarh is the artistic alias of sci-fi/fantasy painter, illustrator, and concept artist Jennifer S. Lange. She enjoys spaghetti, lightsabers, and jellyfish. Jennifer lives in northern Germany with her fiancè and a blackbird.